Cafe Retro Kigali will be a volunteer-driven cafe and community hub, created in partnership by Root Foundation (Kigali, Rwanda) and Retro Association (Copenhagen, Denmark.) Root Foundation has provided successful education programs for street children in Kigali since 2014, but struggle to find reliable outside funding. Cafe Retro Kigali will provide financial support and job training for their programs, with the help of Retro Association and their model of volunteer-run cafes in Copenhagen.
Approximately 7000 children live in the streets of Kigali, Rwanda and face daily the danger of unsanitary living conditions, potential drug abuse and criminal activity. Root Foundation has improved the lives of hundreds of these children, but lacks reliable funding to expand these programs, while an increasing number of street children move to Kigali from surrounding areas.
Root Foundation helps children from vulnerable backgrounds play, learn and develop in a healthy social environment, while inviting their entire family into the program. These programs, along with job training and community involvement, are currently established as a successful, multi-faceted approach to helping street children grow and thrive in Kigali. Cafe Retro Kigali will provide the components needed to expand: reliable funding, community space, and professional job training opportunities.
Expanded outreach and educational programs will provide more street children with tools to rise out of poverty by creating stable home lives and opportunities to pursue their education and career. Cafe Retro Kigali will provide funding for these programs, allowing expansion into areas of Kigali that aren't currently served. Root Foundation believes it is vital to address the needs of street children in every area of Kigali, in order to create a long-term, socioeconomic shift within the city.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).